snail id please

[trickeye34]

while i was sick, my dad went to my lfs to get me a few hermit crabs and came home with two mystery snails. the fishstore labeled them "conch snails," but i know they could be anything. i'm praying they're not whelks. they have a bizzare "tooth" near the opening and a purple-ish mantle. i'll get pics of the bottoms as soon as i can. thank you very much. oh, and they're about 1''

 

[donya]

Since you mentioned a tooth on the shell, perhaps an Opeatostoma? http://www.gastropods.com/6/Shell_1226.shtml

 

[trickeye34]

fantastic!! looks just like 'em! reef safe??

 

[donya]

I have read little about that particular species unfortunately, but since they are in Fasciolariidae I would be very cautious about putting them in a reef or community tank in general. Many Fasciolariids are predators on other mollusks, so my guess would be that they're not completely safe. The safest thing to do would be to either isolate the snails until you've got a clear picture of what the diet is or take them back to the LFS. If you return them, make sure the store knows that they sold you, since many people inexperienced with snails will confuse the carnivorous, potentially non-reef-safe "conches" in Fasciolariidae for true Strombidae conches (which are safe).

 

[greenbean36191]

This species is reported to eat barnacles and worms, but in an environment lacking its preferred foods I would not be surprised to hear that it goes after mollusks as well.

 

[pagojoe]

I'll second what greenbean and donya say. It's Opeatostoma pseudodon, a snail in the Tulip family, and most if not all the snails in that family are capable of killing other molluscs, even if they're not the primary food source. They'd be really cool in a species tank, though, assuming you could keep them fed.

Cheers,



Don